WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 Anna: Welcome to Astronomy Daily. I'm Anna. And 1 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:04.480 today we'll start with the exciting news of a 2 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:07.160 new interstellar visitor. Only the third ever 3 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:09.000 confirmed to be zooming through our solar 4 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:11.360 system. Then we'll explore NASA's 5 00:00:11.360 --> 00:00:14.240 SphereX mission which is creating an all sky 6 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:16.720 map of the universe, making its data 7 00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:19.480 publicly accessible. Next, 8 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:22.120 prepare for a mind bending story about a self 9 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:24.680 destructive exoplanet. An astonishing 10 00:00:24.680 --> 00:00:27.540 discovery. We'll also dive into the latest 11 00:00:27.540 --> 00:00:29.580 revelations from the James Webb Space 12 00:00:29.580 --> 00:00:32.220 Telescope, which continues to reshape our 13 00:00:32.220 --> 00:00:35.220 view of cosmic history. And finally, we'll 14 00:00:35.220 --> 00:00:37.980 uncover a surprising twist how Earth's 15 00:00:37.980 --> 00:00:40.580 very own weather satellites are now helping 16 00:00:40.580 --> 00:00:41.580 us study Venus. 17 00:00:41.899 --> 00:00:44.700 Let's get started. Our first 18 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:46.700 stop today is an exciting new celestial 19 00:00:46.700 --> 00:00:49.300 visitor. Astronomers have just confirmed the 20 00:00:49.300 --> 00:00:51.520 discovery of an interstellar object, space 21 00:00:51.670 --> 00:00:54.030 speeding through our solar system. This marks 22 00:00:54.030 --> 00:00:56.190 only the third time humanity has detected an 23 00:00:56.190 --> 00:00:58.830 object that originated beyond our own stellar 24 00:00:58.830 --> 00:01:01.630 neighbourhood. The Visitor, officially 25 00:01:01.630 --> 00:01:03.750 named 3i Atlas by the International 26 00:01:03.830 --> 00:01:06.790 Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Centre, has 27 00:01:06.790 --> 00:01:09.190 been classified as a comet. Its 28 00:01:09.350 --> 00:01:11.790 fuzziness, as described by astronomer 29 00:01:11.790 --> 00:01:13.510 Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard 30 00:01:13.510 --> 00:01:16.190 Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, suggests 31 00:01:16.190 --> 00:01:18.390 it's primarily made of ice rather than rock. 32 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:21.240 While its exact size is still being refined, 33 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:23.840 current estimates place it at roughly 10 to 34 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:26.160 20 kilometres wide, which would make it the 35 00:01:26.160 --> 00:01:28.160 largest interstellar interloper ever 36 00:01:28.160 --> 00:01:31.000 detected. However, if it's truly made of ice, 37 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:33.240 it could be smaller since ice reflects more 38 00:01:33.240 --> 00:01:35.480 light, making it appear larger. 39 00:01:35.880 --> 00:01:38.360 Regardless of its precise dimensions, it 40 00:01:38.360 --> 00:01:40.520 poses absolutely no threat to Earth. 41 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:43.560 Richard Moisel, head of Planetary defence at 42 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:46.420 the European Space Agency, assures us it will 43 00:01:46.420 --> 00:01:49.100 fly deep through our solar system, passing 44 00:01:49.100 --> 00:01:51.180 just inside the orbit of Mars without any 45 00:01:51.180 --> 00:01:53.900 collision risk. What makes 3i 46 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:56.540 Atlas so fascinating is its incredible speed. 47 00:01:56.860 --> 00:01:59.300 Zooming along at more than 60 kilometres per 48 00:01:59.300 --> 00:02:02.220 second, or about 37 miles per second, 49 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:05.420 this phenomenal velocity means it isn't 50 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:07.900 gravitationally bound by the sun. Unlike 51 00:02:07.900 --> 00:02:09.780 comets and asteroids that originate from 52 00:02:09.780 --> 00:02:12.210 within our solar system, its trajectory 53 00:02:12.210 --> 00:02:14.050 clearly indicates it's from interstellar 54 00:02:14.050 --> 00:02:16.090 space and will continue on its journey back 55 00:02:16.090 --> 00:02:18.170 out into the galaxy once it passes us. 56 00:02:19.210 --> 00:02:21.850 Astronomers theorise that these icy wanderers 57 00:02:21.850 --> 00:02:24.570 form around other star systems. As another 58 00:02:24.570 --> 00:02:27.570 star passes nearby, its gravitational tug can 59 00:02:27.570 --> 00:02:30.250 free these ice balls, sending them rogue into 60 00:02:30.250 --> 00:02:33.170 the galaxy. This newly discovered comet is 61 00:02:33.170 --> 00:02:35.130 simply one that happens to be passing through 62 00:02:35.130 --> 00:02:37.940 our cosmic backyard. The object 63 00:02:37.940 --> 00:02:39.980 was initially spotted by the NASA funded 64 00:02:39.980 --> 00:02:42.820 ATLAS survey in Hawaii. Professional and 65 00:02:42.820 --> 00:02:45.140 amateur astronomers worldwide then joined 66 00:02:45.140 --> 00:02:47.780 forces, digging through past telescope data 67 00:02:47.780 --> 00:02:50.260 to trace its path back to at least mid June. 68 00:02:51.060 --> 00:02:53.220 It's expected to get brighter and closer to 69 00:02:53.220 --> 00:02:55.780 the sun until late October and will remain 70 00:02:55.780 --> 00:02:58.180 observable by telescope into next year. 71 00:02:59.060 --> 00:03:01.460 To put this discovery into perspective, the 72 00:03:01.460 --> 00:03:04.330 first interstellar object, Oumuamua, 73 00:03:04.410 --> 00:03:07.090 was detected in 2017 and was so 74 00:03:07.090 --> 00:03:09.410 peculiar it even led some scientists to 75 00:03:09.410 --> 00:03:12.010 speculate about alien origins, though this 76 00:03:12.010 --> 00:03:14.690 theory has since been largely dismissed. Our 77 00:03:14.690 --> 00:03:17.290 second visitor, 2i Borisov, was 78 00:03:17.290 --> 00:03:20.290 observed in 2019. Mark Norris, an 79 00:03:20.290 --> 00:03:21.810 astronomer at the University of Central 80 00:03:21.810 --> 00:03:24.410 Lancashire in the UK, notes that 3i 81 00:03:24.410 --> 00:03:26.250 Atlas appears to be moving considerably 82 00:03:26.250 --> 00:03:29.100 faster than its two predecessors. While it's 83 00:03:29.100 --> 00:03:30.940 currently roughly the distance of Jupiter 84 00:03:30.940 --> 00:03:33.260 away from Earth and primarily visible in the 85 00:03:33.260 --> 00:03:35.540 southern hemisphere, its presence is 86 00:03:35.540 --> 00:03:38.180 incredibly significant. Scientists 87 00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:41.180 estimate that as many as 10,000 interstellar 88 00:03:41.180 --> 00:03:42.940 objects might be drifting through our solar 89 00:03:42.940 --> 00:03:45.180 system at any given time, though most are 90 00:03:45.180 --> 00:03:48.180 likely much smaller. This new detection 91 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:50.340 suggests that observatories like the newly 92 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:53.140 online Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile 93 00:03:53.540 --> 00:03:55.660 could soon be finding these dim interstellar 94 00:03:55.660 --> 00:03:56.980 visitors on a monthly basis. 95 00:03:58.160 --> 00:04:00.360 Unfortunately, sending a mission to intercept 96 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:02.720 3i Atlas isn't feasible due to its speed and 97 00:04:02.720 --> 00:04:05.320 trajectory. However, these rare 98 00:04:05.320 --> 00:04:07.640 visitors offer scientists an unparalleled 99 00:04:07.640 --> 00:04:09.560 opportunity to study material from outside 100 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:12.400 our solar system. Imagine if we could detect 101 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:14.520 precursors of life like, um, amino acids on 102 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:16.680 such an object. It would give us immense 103 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:18.720 confidence that the conditions for life exist 104 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:20.880 in other star systems across the universe. 105 00:04:22.320 --> 00:04:24.280 Moving from interstellar visitors to an 106 00:04:24.280 --> 00:04:26.840 ambitious new mission let's talk about NASA's 107 00:04:26.840 --> 00:04:29.700 Sphere X telescope. Launched in March 108 00:04:29.700 --> 00:04:31.820 and now comfortably settled into low Earth 109 00:04:31.820 --> 00:04:34.620 orbit, this new Astrophysics space telescope 110 00:04:34.620 --> 00:04:37.580 has embarked on an incredible to create a 111 00:04:37.580 --> 00:04:40.340 comprehensive all sky map of the universe. 112 00:04:40.900 --> 00:04:43.380 What's truly revolutionary is that SphereX, 113 00:04:43.460 --> 00:04:45.660 which stands for Spectro Photometer for the 114 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:47.660 History of the Universe, Epoch of 115 00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:50.660 Reionization and ICES Explorer has already 116 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:53.180 begun delivering its sky survey data to a 117 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:56.010 public archive on a weekly basis. This 118 00:04:56.010 --> 00:04:58.370 means anyone from professional astronomers to 119 00:04:58.370 --> 00:05:01.330 curious enthusiasts can access and use this 120 00:05:01.330 --> 00:05:03.690 data to unravel the universe's secrets. 121 00:05:04.250 --> 00:05:07.050 As Rachel Akcsson, the lead for the SphereX 122 00:05:07.050 --> 00:05:09.330 Science Data Centre, puts it, because we're 123 00:05:09.330 --> 00:05:10.890 looking at everything in the whole sky, 124 00:05:11.129 --> 00:05:13.170 almost every area of astronomy can be 125 00:05:13.170 --> 00:05:15.930 addressed by SphereX data. While other 126 00:05:15.930 --> 00:05:18.290 missions like NASA's retired WISE telescope, 127 00:05:18.290 --> 00:05:21.050 also mapped the entire sky, Sphere X 128 00:05:21.280 --> 00:05:23.400 significantly builds on that legacy. It 129 00:05:23.400 --> 00:05:26.080 observes in an astounding 102 infrared 130 00:05:26.080 --> 00:05:28.240 wavelengths, a massive leap compared to 131 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:31.160 WISE's four wavelength bands. This extensive 132 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:33.200 range allows scientists to use a technique 133 00:05:33.200 --> 00:05:35.960 called spectroscopy to identify the unique 134 00:05:35.960 --> 00:05:38.600 signatures of specific molecules. The 135 00:05:38.600 --> 00:05:40.640 mission's science team will harness this 136 00:05:40.640 --> 00:05:42.640 capability to study the distribution of 137 00:05:42.640 --> 00:05:45.320 frozen water and organic molecules, often 138 00:05:45.320 --> 00:05:47.040 referred to as the building blocks of life. 139 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:48.900 According to across our own Milky Way galaxy 140 00:05:49.620 --> 00:05:52.020 beyond our cosmic neighbourhood. Sphere X 141 00:05:52.020 --> 00:05:53.820 data will be crucial for understanding the 142 00:05:53.820 --> 00:05:55.900 physics that drove the universe's rapid 143 00:05:55.900 --> 00:05:58.860 expansion after the Big Bang. It will also 144 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:00.940 measure the amount of light emitted by all 145 00:06:00.940 --> 00:06:03.860 galaxies over cosmic time. The decision 146 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:05.980 to make this data publicly available so 147 00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:08.780 quickly, within 60 days of collection is a 148 00:06:08.780 --> 00:06:10.740 testament to NASA's commitment to open 149 00:06:10.740 --> 00:06:13.670 science, transparency and efficiency. It 150 00:06:13.670 --> 00:06:15.990 empowers the entire astronomy community to 151 00:06:15.990 --> 00:06:18.190 explore and make discoveries that the Sphere 152 00:06:18.190 --> 00:06:20.150 X team alone couldn't possibly achieve. 153 00:06:20.630 --> 00:06:23.270 During its two year primary mission, SphereX 154 00:06:23.270 --> 00:06:25.510 will survey the entire sky twice a year, 155 00:06:25.750 --> 00:06:28.190 ultimately compiling four complete all sky 156 00:06:28.190 --> 00:06:30.870 maps. After the one year mark, a full map 157 00:06:30.870 --> 00:06:33.150 covering all 102 wavelengths will be 158 00:06:33.150 --> 00:06:36.150 released. The impact of SPHEREx extends 159 00:06:36.150 --> 00:06:38.310 even further as its data can be combined with 160 00:06:38.310 --> 00:06:40.110 observations from other groundbreaking 161 00:06:40.110 --> 00:06:42.550 missions. Imagine refining 162 00:06:42.550 --> 00:06:44.790 exoplanet parameters collected by NASA's 163 00:06:44.790 --> 00:06:47.630 Tess, identifying fascinating new targets for 164 00:06:47.630 --> 00:06:50.270 the James Webb Space Telescope, or studying 165 00:06:50.270 --> 00:06:52.230 the properties of dark matter and dark energy 166 00:06:52.550 --> 00:06:54.990 alongside the European Space Agency's Euclid 167 00:06:54.990 --> 00:06:57.430 mission and NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space 168 00:06:57.430 --> 00:07:00.310 Telescope. The possibilities are truly 169 00:07:00.310 --> 00:07:03.230 boundless. As Vandana Desai, RSS 170 00:07:03.230 --> 00:07:06.110 Science Lead, wisely states, people are going 171 00:07:06.110 --> 00:07:08.430 to use the data in all kinds of ways that we 172 00:07:08.430 --> 00:07:11.290 can't imagine. It's an exciting time when the 173 00:07:11.290 --> 00:07:13.330 universe is becoming more accessible than 174 00:07:13.330 --> 00:07:16.010 ever, thanks to missions like SphereX, paving 175 00:07:16.010 --> 00:07:18.050 the way for unprecedented discoveries 176 00:07:19.410 --> 00:07:21.570 from the vast universe to individual 177 00:07:21.570 --> 00:07:22.770 planetary systems. 178 00:07:22.850 --> 00:07:25.370 Our next story takes us to a truly bizarre 179 00:07:25.370 --> 00:07:28.130 discovery, an exoplanet that seems to be 180 00:07:28.130 --> 00:07:30.370 actively contributing to its own demise. 181 00:07:31.010 --> 00:07:33.170 Astronomers have found a doomed planet 182 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:35.206 officially named HIP67 183 00:07:35.463 --> 00:07:38.420 522B, which is clinging so tightly 184 00:07:38.420 --> 00:07:40.700 to its parent star that it's triggering 185 00:07:40.700 --> 00:07:43.580 explosive outbursts and in turn destroying 186 00:07:43.580 --> 00:07:46.340 itself. This is a completely new phenomenon 187 00:07:46.340 --> 00:07:48.980 in our understanding of celestial bodies. HIP 188 00:07:48.980 --> 00:07:51.580 67522B is a young 189 00:07:51.580 --> 00:07:53.780 extrasolar planet orbiting an equally young 190 00:07:53.780 --> 00:07:56.740 star, hip 67522, which 191 00:07:56.740 --> 00:07:59.700 is only about 17 million years old. To put 192 00:07:59.700 --> 00:08:01.700 that into perspective, our sun is a middle 193 00:08:01.700 --> 00:08:04.600 aged 4.6 billion years old. The 194 00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:06.880 exoplanet's orbit is incredibly tight, 195 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:09.120 completing a full year in just one Earth 196 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:11.560 week. Since the first exoplanets were 197 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:14.560 discovered in the mid-1990s, scientists have 198 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:16.480 wondered if a planet could orbit close enough 199 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:19.280 to impact its star's magnetic fields. With 200 00:08:19.280 --> 00:08:22.080 over 5,000 exoplanet discoveries since then, 201 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:24.800 the answer remained elusive. Until now. 202 00:08:25.520 --> 00:08:28.000 Ekaterina Ilien, the team leader from the 203 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.080 Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, 204 00:08:30.530 --> 00:08:32.450 expressed her excitement and curiosity, 205 00:08:32.770 --> 00:08:34.850 stating that they had never seen a system 206 00:08:34.850 --> 00:08:37.570 like HIP 67522B before, 207 00:08:37.970 --> 00:08:40.170 especially one with such a young planet 208 00:08:40.170 --> 00:08:42.930 orbiting so closely. She added that she had a 209 00:08:42.930 --> 00:08:45.690 million questions because the details of this 210 00:08:45.690 --> 00:08:47.650 new phenomenon are still unclear. 211 00:08:48.530 --> 00:08:50.250 The team first identified HIP 212 00:08:50.250 --> 00:08:52.810 67522B while using 213 00:08:52.810 --> 00:08:55.490 NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, 214 00:08:55.490 --> 00:08:57.780 or TESS, which is designed to hunt for 215 00:08:57.780 --> 00:08:59.900 exoplanets and survey flaring stars. 216 00:09:00.380 --> 00:09:01.820 TESS picked up some intriguing 217 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:03.500 characteristics, prompting a follow up 218 00:09:03.500 --> 00:09:05.260 investigation with the European Space 219 00:09:05.260 --> 00:09:07.820 Agency's Characterising Exoplanet Satellite, 220 00:09:07.820 --> 00:09:10.580 or cheops. With cheops, they observed even 221 00:09:10.580 --> 00:09:12.900 more flares, with almost all of them directed 222 00:09:12.900 --> 00:09:14.820 towards Earth as the planet passed in front 223 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:17.620 of its star. What they discovered was 224 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:20.460 remarkable. The stellar flares thrown out by 225 00:09:20.460 --> 00:09:23.020 hip 67522 occur 226 00:09:23.020 --> 00:09:25.840 precisely when its clingy planet transits or 227 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.520 passes in front of the star. This 228 00:09:28.520 --> 00:09:30.280 strongly suggests that the flares are 229 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:32.840 triggered by the planet itself. The leading 230 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:34.040 theory is that hip 231 00:09:34.040 --> 00:09:36.920 67522B is so 232 00:09:36.920 --> 00:09:39.160 close to its star that it exerts a 233 00:09:39.160 --> 00:09:41.920 significant magnetic influence. As the planet 234 00:09:41.920 --> 00:09:44.360 whips around, it gathers energy, which is 235 00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:46.880 then redirected as waves rippling down the 236 00:09:46.880 --> 00:09:49.440 star's magnetic field lines. When one of 237 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:51.700 these waves hits the stellar surface, it 238 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:54.660 triggers a massive flare. Ilan 239 00:09:54.660 --> 00:09:56.620 explained that the waves seem to be setting 240 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:59.460 off explosions that are in essence waiting to 241 00:09:59.460 --> 00:10:01.660 happen, resulting in flares with much higher 242 00:10:01.660 --> 00:10:04.460 energy than the waves themselves. This 243 00:10:04.460 --> 00:10:06.380 groundbreaking finding provides the first 244 00:10:06.380 --> 00:10:08.300 hard evidence that planets can indeed 245 00:10:08.300 --> 00:10:10.900 influence the behaviour of their stars. And 246 00:10:10.900 --> 00:10:13.780 for hip 67522B, this 247 00:10:13.780 --> 00:10:16.740 influence is disastrous. The induced flares 248 00:10:16.740 --> 00:10:18.420 are directed right back at the planet, 249 00:10:18.670 --> 00:10:20.510 bombarding it with approximately six times 250 00:10:20.510 --> 00:10:22.590 the radiation a planet at this orbital 251 00:10:22.590 --> 00:10:23.950 distance would typically experience. 252 00:10:25.470 --> 00:10:28.470 Currently, hip 67522B is 253 00:10:28.470 --> 00:10:31.150 about the size of Jupiter, but its density is 254 00:10:31.150 --> 00:10:33.630 incredibly low, comparable to candy floss. 255 00:10:34.429 --> 00:10:36.390 This intense radiation bombardment is 256 00:10:36.390 --> 00:10:38.230 stripping away the planet's wispy outer 257 00:10:38.230 --> 00:10:40.470 layers, causing it to lose what little mass 258 00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:43.150 it possesses over the next hundred million 259 00:10:43.150 --> 00:10:44.960 years. Circumstances scientists predict that 260 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:47.920 hip 67522B could shrink from 261 00:10:47.920 --> 00:10:49.920 its current Jupiter like size to something 262 00:10:49.920 --> 00:10:52.560 closer to Neptune. The full extent of the 263 00:10:52.560 --> 00:10:54.680 damage from these self inflicted flares is 264 00:10:54.680 --> 00:10:57.560 still uncertain. But this bizarre celestial 265 00:10:57.560 --> 00:11:00.239 dance is opening up entirely new avenues for 266 00:11:00.239 --> 00:11:02.400 understanding star planet interactions and 267 00:11:02.400 --> 00:11:03.640 planetary evolution. 268 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:06.800 Next up, let's take a look at an anniversary 269 00:11:06.800 --> 00:11:09.240 of sorts. Since July 2022, 270 00:11:09.730 --> 00:11:12.210 NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has been 271 00:11:12.210 --> 00:11:14.170 diligently focused on unlocking the 272 00:11:14.170 --> 00:11:16.930 universe's secrets. And it has absolutely 273 00:11:16.930 --> 00:11:19.890 delivered with its unparalleled ability to 274 00:11:19.890 --> 00:11:22.450 detect and analyse invisible infrared light. 275 00:11:22.930 --> 00:11:25.250 Webb has made observations once thought 276 00:11:25.250 --> 00:11:27.850 impossible, profoundly changing our view of 277 00:11:27.850 --> 00:11:30.770 the cosmos from the most distant galaxies 278 00:11:31.010 --> 00:11:33.290 to the familiar corners of our own solar 279 00:11:33.290 --> 00:11:36.250 system. Webb was built with the promise of 280 00:11:36.250 --> 00:11:38.250 revolutionising astronomy and rewriting the 281 00:11:38.250 --> 00:11:40.890 textbooks. And by any measure, it has far 282 00:11:40.890 --> 00:11:43.810 exceeded those lofty expectations. In 283 00:11:43.810 --> 00:11:46.370 just three years of science operations, Webb 284 00:11:46.370 --> 00:11:48.930 has completed more than 860 scientific 285 00:11:48.930 --> 00:11:51.850 programmes, collecting nearly 550 286 00:11:51.850 --> 00:11:54.570 terabytes of data and leading to over 287 00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:57.370 1600 research papers. The 288 00:11:57.370 --> 00:11:59.530 sheer volume of intriguing results and new 289 00:11:59.530 --> 00:12:02.090 questions it has raised is truly astonishing. 290 00:12:02.970 --> 00:12:05.330 One of Webb's primary missions was to observe 291 00:12:05.330 --> 00:12:08.070 cosmic dawn, the period during the universe's 292 00:12:08.070 --> 00:12:10.150 first billion years when the earliest stars 293 00:12:10.150 --> 00:12:13.030 and galaxies were forming. What scientists 294 00:12:13.030 --> 00:12:15.550 expected to see were a few faint, nascent 295 00:12:15.550 --> 00:12:18.310 galaxies, mere hints of what would eventually 296 00:12:18.310 --> 00:12:20.230 become the grand structures we see today. 297 00:12:20.950 --> 00:12:23.630 Instead, Webb revealed surprisingly bright 298 00:12:23.630 --> 00:12:25.760 and mature galaxies that developed within a, 299 00:12:25.760 --> 00:12:28.150 uh, mere 300 million years of the Big Bang. 300 00:12:28.950 --> 00:12:31.390 It also found galaxies with black holes that 301 00:12:31.390 --> 00:12:34.120 seemed far too massive for their age, and 302 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:36.960 even an infant Milky Way type galaxy that 303 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:39.520 existed when the universe was only 600 304 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:42.160 million years old. This 305 00:12:42.160 --> 00:12:44.000 suggests that the universe evolves 306 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:46.240 significantly faster than we previously 307 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:48.560 thought. Adding to the surprises, 308 00:12:48.880 --> 00:12:51.880 Webb has unveiled a new type of galaxy. A 309 00:12:51.880 --> 00:12:54.400 distant population of mysteriously compact 310 00:12:54.400 --> 00:12:57.160 bright red galaxies, affectionately dubbed 311 00:12:57.160 --> 00:13:00.040 little red dots. What makes them so bright 312 00:13:00.040 --> 00:13:02.370 and red? Are they illuminated by dense 313 00:13:02.370 --> 00:13:05.330 groupings of unusually brilliant stars? By 314 00:13:05.330 --> 00:13:07.930 gas spiralling into a supermassive black 315 00:13:07.930 --> 00:13:10.770 hole? Or perhaps both. And what 316 00:13:10.770 --> 00:13:13.170 eventually happened to them? These little red 317 00:13:13.170 --> 00:13:15.690 dots appeared around 600 million years after 318 00:13:15.690 --> 00:13:18.450 the Big Bang and rapidly declined in number 319 00:13:18.450 --> 00:13:20.890 less than a billion years later, leaving 320 00:13:20.890 --> 00:13:22.610 astronomers eager to understand their 321 00:13:22.610 --> 00:13:25.570 evolution. Webb's observations are also 322 00:13:25.570 --> 00:13:27.530 providing critical insights into one of 323 00:13:27.530 --> 00:13:30.210 astronomy's most perplexing dilemmas the 324 00:13:30.210 --> 00:13:32.450 Hubble tension. This refers to the 325 00:13:32.450 --> 00:13:34.170 frustrating problem where different methods 326 00:13:34.170 --> 00:13:35.930 of calculating the universe's current 327 00:13:35.930 --> 00:13:38.930 expansion rate yield different results. Is it 328 00:13:38.930 --> 00:13:41.610 simply a matter of measurement errors? Or is 329 00:13:41.610 --> 00:13:43.490 there something truly strange happening in 330 00:13:43.490 --> 00:13:46.290 the cosmos? So far, Webb's data 331 00:13:46.290 --> 00:13:48.570 indicates that the Hubble tension is not due 332 00:13:48.730 --> 00:13:51.250 to measurement inaccuracies. By 333 00:13:51.250 --> 00:13:53.650 precisely distinguishing pulsating stars in 334 00:13:53.650 --> 00:13:55.850 crowded fields, and even discovering a 335 00:13:55.850 --> 00:13:58.410 distant gravitationally lensed supernova 336 00:13:58.680 --> 00:14:00.440 whose image appeared at three different times 337 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.280 during its explosion, Webb is providing 338 00:14:03.280 --> 00:14:04.920 independent checks on these crucial 339 00:14:04.920 --> 00:14:07.600 measurements, suggesting this cosmic puzzle 340 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:08.440 is very real. 341 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:11.760 Beyond galaxies, the Webb telescope's 342 00:14:11.760 --> 00:14:14.120 extraordinary infrared vision has also 343 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:16.200 unveiled surprisingly rich and varied 344 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:18.680 atmospheres on gas giants orbiting distant 345 00:14:18.680 --> 00:14:21.560 stars. While the Hubble Space Telescope 346 00:14:21.560 --> 00:14:23.360 made the first detection of gases on an 347 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.080 exoplanet, Webb has taken these studies to an 348 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:28.680 entirely new level. It's revealed a chemical 349 00:14:28.680 --> 00:14:30.680 cocktail including hydrogen sulphide, 350 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:33.640 ammonia, carbon dioxide, methane 351 00:14:33.640 --> 00:14:36.400 and sulphur dioxide, none of which had been 352 00:14:36.400 --> 00:14:38.760 clearly detected in an atmosphere outside our 353 00:14:38.760 --> 00:14:41.560 solar system before. Webb has even examined 354 00:14:41.560 --> 00:14:43.800 the exotic climates of these gas giants, 355 00:14:44.040 --> 00:14:46.400 detecting flakes of silica, uh, snow in the 356 00:14:46.400 --> 00:14:49.320 skies of one searing hot world and measuring 357 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:51.240 temperature and cloud differences across 358 00:14:51.240 --> 00:14:53.940 others. The telescope's exceptional ability 359 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:56.300 to measure subtle changes in infrared light 360 00:14:56.620 --> 00:14:58.740 makes it possible to even analyse the thin 361 00:14:58.740 --> 00:15:01.500 layers of gas around smaller rocky planets. 362 00:15:01.820 --> 00:15:03.660 Webb has already ruled out significant 363 00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:05.900 atmospheres on some rocky worlds and found 364 00:15:05.900 --> 00:15:08.179 tantalising signs of carbon monoxide or 365 00:15:08.179 --> 00:15:11.000 carbon dioxide on 55 Cancri E A, uh, 366 00:15:11.060 --> 00:15:13.820 lava world orbiting a sun like star. These 367 00:15:13.820 --> 00:15:15.740 findings are laying crucial groundwork for 368 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:18.140 NASA's future habitable worlds Observatory, 369 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:21.360 which will be designed to directly image and 370 00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:23.520 search for life on Earth. Like planets. 371 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:26.480 Webb has also mapped intricate galaxy 372 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:29.040 structures with unprecedented detail, showing 373 00:15:29.040 --> 00:15:31.840 us cosmic cities where stars form, live, 374 00:15:32.160 --> 00:15:34.520 die and are recycled into the next 375 00:15:34.520 --> 00:15:37.240 generation. Its infrared eyes reveal 376 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:39.680 delicate filaments of dust tracing spiral 377 00:15:39.680 --> 00:15:42.520 arms, ancient star clusters forming galactic 378 00:15:42.520 --> 00:15:45.360 cores, newly forming stars still hidden in 379 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.210 glowing cocoons of dust and gas, and clusters 380 00:15:48.210 --> 00:15:50.770 of hot young stars carving enormous cavities 381 00:15:50.770 --> 00:15:53.170 within the dust. It's truly helping us 382 00:15:53.170 --> 00:15:56.010 understand how stellar winds and explosions 383 00:15:56.330 --> 00:15:58.570 actively reshape their galactic homes. 384 00:15:59.290 --> 00:16:01.850 In other observations, Webb has spotted 385 00:16:01.850 --> 00:16:04.130 hundreds of objects resembling brown dwarfs 386 00:16:04.130 --> 00:16:06.770 in the Milky Way and even some candidates in 387 00:16:06.770 --> 00:16:09.690 a neighbouring galaxy. Brown dwarfs form like 388 00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:12.050 stars, but aren't massive enough to fuse 389 00:16:12.050 --> 00:16:14.740 hydrogen. Some of these objects are so small, 390 00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:17.420 just a few times the mass of Jupiter, that 391 00:16:17.420 --> 00:16:19.180 it's hard to tell if they're free floating 392 00:16:19.180 --> 00:16:21.700 gas giant planets or something else entirely. 393 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:24.780 Thanks to Webb, we now know there's a 394 00:16:24.780 --> 00:16:26.900 continuous spectrum of objects ranging from 395 00:16:26.900 --> 00:16:29.259 planets to brown dwarfs to full fledged 396 00:16:29.259 --> 00:16:32.060 stars. The telescope has also found potential 397 00:16:32.060 --> 00:16:34.500 planets orbiting white dwarfs, hinting that 398 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:36.460 it might be possible for worlds to survive 399 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:38.580 the dramatic death of their host stars. 400 00:16:39.420 --> 00:16:42.020 Closer to home, Webb has turned its gaze to 401 00:16:42.020 --> 00:16:44.060 our own solar system with equally impressive 402 00:16:44.060 --> 00:16:46.700 results. It observed the vast water plume 403 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:49.020 erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, 404 00:16:49.180 --> 00:16:51.820 revealing its true scale as a cloud spanning 405 00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:54.740 over 6,000 miles, about 20 times wider 406 00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:57.660 than Enceladus itself. This water then 407 00:16:57.660 --> 00:16:59.820 spreads out into a donut shaped torus 408 00:16:59.820 --> 00:17:02.780 encircling Saturn, even raining down onto the 409 00:17:02.780 --> 00:17:05.590 planet. The these unique observations of 410 00:17:05.590 --> 00:17:08.430 rings, auroras, clouds, winds, 411 00:17:08.430 --> 00:17:10.950 ices and gases are helping us better 412 00:17:10.950 --> 00:17:12.990 understand what our cosmic neighbourhood is 413 00:17:12.990 --> 00:17:15.510 made of and how it has changed over time. 414 00:17:16.470 --> 00:17:18.630 Finally, Webb has also played a crucial role 415 00:17:18.630 --> 00:17:21.510 in Supporting asteroid defence missions. In 416 00:17:21.510 --> 00:17:24.350 2024, when an asteroid was discovered with a 417 00:17:24.350 --> 00:17:26.950 preliminary chance of hitting Earth, Webb was 418 00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:29.350 uniquely able to measure the object, which 419 00:17:29.350 --> 00:17:31.430 turned out to be the size of a 15 story 420 00:17:31.430 --> 00:17:34.320 building, helping assess the hazard. While 421 00:17:34.320 --> 00:17:36.160 that particular asteroid is no longer a 422 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:38.400 threat, the study demonstrated Webb's 423 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.000 capabilities. The telescope also provided 424 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:43.120 vital support for NASA's Double Asteroid 425 00:17:43.120 --> 00:17:46.080 Redirection Test, or DART, mission, which 426 00:17:46.080 --> 00:17:48.800 deliberately impacted the Didymos binary 427 00:17:48.800 --> 00:17:51.480 asteroid system. Both Webb and Hubble 428 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:53.840 observed the impact, confirming that the 429 00:17:53.840 --> 00:17:56.000 composition of these asteroids is typical of 430 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.690 those that could threaten Earth. In just 431 00:17:58.690 --> 00:18:00.650 three years, Webb has brought the distant 432 00:18:00.650 --> 00:18:03.010 universe into sharp focus, revealed 433 00:18:03.010 --> 00:18:05.250 unexpectedly bright and numerous galaxies, 434 00:18:05.570 --> 00:18:07.970 unveiled new stars in their dusty cocoons, 435 00:18:07.970 --> 00:18:10.850 and studied weather on exoplanets. This is 436 00:18:10.850 --> 00:18:12.810 only the beginning. As engineers estimate 437 00:18:12.810 --> 00:18:14.770 Webb has enough fuel to continue observing 438 00:18:14.770 --> 00:18:17.210 for at least 20 more years, promising many 439 00:18:17.210 --> 00:18:18.850 more cosmic surprises to come. 440 00:18:20.290 --> 00:18:23.290 Finally, today, in a truly unexpected turn of 441 00:18:23.290 --> 00:18:26.030 events, Japanese meteorological satellites, 442 00:18:26.030 --> 00:18:28.630 the Himawari 8 and 9, which are typically 443 00:18:28.630 --> 00:18:30.510 used for monitoring Earth's global weather 444 00:18:30.510 --> 00:18:32.910 patterns, are now providing incredibly 445 00:18:32.910 --> 00:18:35.710 valuable insights into Venus's atmosphere. 446 00:18:36.030 --> 00:18:38.430 These satellites, launched in 2014 447 00:18:38.670 --> 00:18:41.230 and 2016 by the Japan 448 00:18:41.230 --> 00:18:43.710 Meteorological Agency, are equipped with 449 00:18:43.710 --> 00:18:46.270 multispectral advanced Himawari imagers. 450 00:18:46.590 --> 00:18:48.550 In a recent study led by the University of 451 00:18:48.550 --> 00:18:50.760 Tokyo in infrared, images from these 452 00:18:50.760 --> 00:18:52.880 satellites captured changes in Venus's 453 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:55.160 atmosphere, revealing previously unseen 454 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:57.840 temperature patterns in its cloud tops. This 455 00:18:57.840 --> 00:18:59.440 is a significant development because 456 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:01.560 meteorological satellites can complement 457 00:19:01.560 --> 00:19:04.120 observations of Venus's atmosphere, which 458 00:19:04.120 --> 00:19:06.200 usually come from robotic missions and ground 459 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:09.120 based telescopes. Scientists have been 460 00:19:09.120 --> 00:19:11.280 studying Venus's atmosphere for decades to 461 00:19:11.280 --> 00:19:13.600 understand the dynamics of our solar system's 462 00:19:13.600 --> 00:19:16.170 hottest planet. However, many 463 00:19:16.170 --> 00:19:18.930 mysteries persist, such as its thermal tides 464 00:19:18.930 --> 00:19:21.890 and planetary scale waves. Dedicated 465 00:19:21.890 --> 00:19:24.010 robotic probes have often been limited to 466 00:19:24.010 --> 00:19:26.170 single band imagery or short observation 467 00:19:26.170 --> 00:19:28.650 periods. That's where the Himawari satellites 468 00:19:28.650 --> 00:19:31.210 come in. Because these satellites are 469 00:19:31.210 --> 00:19:33.290 scheduled to remain operational for more than 470 00:19:33.290 --> 00:19:35.850 a decade, they offer an unprecedented 471 00:19:35.850 --> 00:19:38.490 opportunity for long term multi band 472 00:19:38.490 --> 00:19:40.690 monitoring. Their instruments provide 473 00:19:40.690 --> 00:19:43.210 infrared coverage that measures Venus's 474 00:19:43.210 --> 00:19:45.210 temperature across different bands, showing 475 00:19:45.210 --> 00:19:47.780 temporal variations. When these geostationary 476 00:19:47.780 --> 00:19:50.260 satellites align with Earth and Venus, they 477 00:19:50.260 --> 00:19:52.340 can obtain images of Venus's turbulent 478 00:19:52.340 --> 00:19:54.140 atmosphere, helping to fill crucial 479 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:57.060 observational gaps. The team behind the 480 00:19:57.060 --> 00:19:59.980 study used hundreds of images from Himawari 8 481 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:02.820 and 9 to map the temporal dynamics and track 482 00:20:02.820 --> 00:20:05.780 temperature variations in Venus's cloud tops 483 00:20:05.780 --> 00:20:08.660 over time. Their analysis confirmed that both 484 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:10.980 the thermal tides and planetary waves in 485 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:13.300 Venus's atmosphere are subject to changes in 486 00:20:13.300 --> 00:20:15.980 amplitude over time, which decrease with 487 00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:18.820 altitude. This novel approach opens 488 00:20:18.820 --> 00:20:21.260 new avenues for long term and multiband 489 00:20:21.260 --> 00:20:23.420 monitoring of other solar system bodies, 490 00:20:23.660 --> 00:20:26.380 including the Moon and Mercury. By 491 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:28.500 providing continuous data that dedicated 492 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:30.500 missions might miss due to their shorter 493 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:33.300 lifespans, these Earth focused satellites are 494 00:20:33.300 --> 00:20:35.420 unexpectedly contributing to our broader 495 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:37.180 understanding of planetary evolution. 496 00:20:39.020 --> 00:20:40.660 That's all for this episode of Astronomy 497 00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:43.300 Daily. I'm Anna and I hope you enjoyed our 498 00:20:43.300 --> 00:20:45.440 journey through the latest in space and 499 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.280 astronomy news. Thank you for tuning in. If 500 00:20:48.280 --> 00:20:50.280 you want to catch up on all the latest space 501 00:20:50.280 --> 00:20:52.200 and astronomy news with our constantly 502 00:20:52.200 --> 00:20:54.080 updating newsfeed, or listen to all our back 503 00:20:54.080 --> 00:20:56.440 episodes, be sure to visit our website at 504 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:59.080 astronomydaily IO. You can also stay 505 00:20:59.080 --> 00:21:01.320 connected with us on social media. Just 506 00:21:01.320 --> 00:21:03.840 search for Astro Daily Pod on Facebook, X, 507 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:06.560 YouTube, YouTube, Music, Instagram, Tumblr, 508 00:21:06.560 --> 00:21:09.000 and TikTok for daily updates and more cosmic 509 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:11.610 content. Until next time, keep looking up and 510 00:21:11.610 --> 00:21:12.250 stay curious.